Here is a summary of the main themes and topics raised by members attending the event.
Can abstractors monitor risks of future regulatory changes in their area?
The Environment Agency’s approach to abstraction licensing is contained in its abstraction licensing strategies. This indicates current ‘stress levels’ of abstraction and the prospects of being able to obtain new and ‘renewed’ licences.
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Why is it so difficult to obtain planning permission for farm reservoirs?
Our experience is that applications for planning permission for farm reservoirs is rarely refused but the process can be costly, lengthy and vary considerably between different local planning authorities. Defra is currently in discussion with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government about possible improvements to the process, but progress is slow.
You can find more here about the National Planning Policy Framework relevant to on-farm planning applications.
Where can I find out more about abstraction licensing and the regulations that influence Environment Agency decisions?
- Find out more about the
- Information on
- The NFU irrigation and water resources pages are regularly updated on these issues.
How can we collectively increase our abstraction of high flow surface water and reduce the volumes that run out to sea?
That is one of the key messages of the NFU Integrated Water Management Strategy.
Should we have a national water grid?
Water is heavy and expensive to push uphill, and the water companies have made a commitment to achieve Net Zero by 2030. Nevertheless, there are plans to link up water-stressed regions with regions on surplus as part of government’s new water resource planning framework.
Work is starting on the creation of five long-term, multi-sector (including agriculture) water plans and we encourage members to participate in the process.
You can find out more here about ‘’.
You can find out more about the multi-sector water resources position in the five regional groups here:
Water at altitude and volume can produce green hydrogen, the fuel of the future. How can we link climate change mitigation with farm water in order to access the future carbon neutral funding streams?
Great idea! You don’t need a big water source to support hydrolysers making hydrogen using renewable electricity – the capital cost of the electrolyser and a supply of ‘surplus’ cheap renewable electricity are the limiting factors, not the water. This is something we will discuss with NFU Energy and include in our next steps document.
How can growers be compensated from loss of crops due to flooding? How can you encourage growers to continue to grow when every year they are flooded and loosing money?
It depends on the circumstances of the flooding. If an action has been deliberately taken compensation could be claimed through the Water Resources Act 1991. For more advice contact NFU CallFirst on 0370 845 8458.
The IWMS document looks at how you can improve your on-farm resilience. We will be looking further into this to make sure growers can adapt to the best of their ability to be resilient to water-related risks.
Collaboration by farmers to implement multiple flood mitigation projects along an entire water way are likely to provide the best value and effective result. Will there be opportunities in the future for access to collaboration payments?
The NFU Water Maintenance Solutions pack details different ways in which farmers can, and have, come together like you describe. There could be potential for this within ELMs. We also have a group of farmers in Cumbria who are looking at doing something similar and, with support from academics and others, have applied for funding from the EA’s innovation fund.
Where do we stand, given that in common law there is a given right to allow water to flow naturally downhill across our land onto a neighbour’s?
Yes, there is a right to natural drainage. This means that water flowing naturally across the surface of the land is permitted to flow downhill naturally onto your neighbour’s land. However, you must not channel the flow of water in such a way as to cause damage to your neighbour’s land or increase their flood risk. For more information check out the NFU’s Water Maintenance Solutions pack.
What can be done to ensure that NE and EA work together to ensure that the importance of channel maintenance is to the fore and not re-wetting/re-wilding?
Our environment must be managed with a fully functioning hydrological system – rewilding cannot work when it comes to managing water resources of flood risk without careful, well-planned management.
皇家华人will continue to work with NE and EA to ensure that the appropriate considerations are taken before decisions are made that could increase water-related risks and damage to the environment and agricultural land.
What can we do about the lack of flood defence and river maintenance and the lack of transparency on maintenance spending?
The NFU’s flooding manifesto sets out how best we should manage our flood defence assets and highlights the importance of watercourse maintenance.
Further information on rights and responsibilities of watercourse maintenance can be found in the NFU’s Water Maintenance Solutions pack.
National infrastructure, e.g. motorways, were built before balancing ponds were a requirement. Should the government pay for these flood control measures to be installed retrospectively? How do we manage the additional pressures of new developments on existing drainage systems?
Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDs) are being increasingly favoured for their potential reduction of surface water flooding e.g. from highways.
However, the large-scale uptake of SuDs remains a distant prospect pending commencement of Schedule 3 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 (provisions are commenced in Wales) as this would allow water companies and local authorities to take responsibility of the maintenance and liability of a scheme and not leave it to the landowner. Any retrospective installation of SuDS should be in line with our asks in our Flooding Manifesto – plan, protect and pay.
Please could we have confirmation as to where drainage rate payments are being spent?
Drainage rates are levied as a charge (at a rate of Xp in the £1) on agricultural properties in an Internal Drainage District. The rates are levied to pay for the special local drainage or flood protection works which are carried out by the Internal Drainage Board of that district. The Regional Flood and Coast Committee (RFCC) have overall say on where the Environment Agency spend their allocation of maintenance in the area. We recommend writing to your IDB to raise the issue and writing to the chair of your RFCC.
I farm in a river valley over gravel, we flood in the winter to protect a town shopping centre and suffer from severe droughts in hot summers, what hope do I have?
The IWMS should help to find ways in which your farm could be more resilient. Please get in touch with your Regional Environment Advisor for some guidance as to how you could potentially make your farm more resilient and check out the case studies in the strategy.